Xbox 360 Slim Deserves Your Attention

Exactly 5 years ago, Microsoft dashed towards the second phase of next gen console development to beat the bullpizzle out of Sony and Nintendo in the international market. Since then, about 40 million copies of Xbox 360 have been sold, while bringing innovative ideas to Microsoft and its competitors.

But that doesn’t mean that the console is just “perfect”. We have known and feared the dreaded “Ring of Death” as fear itself. I wouldn’t be lying if I told you that I and my friend lost their Xbox 360’s due to the infamous “Ring of Death” debacle.

Just recently at E3, Microsoft proudly announced the release of the all new Xbox 360: Slim Edition. Needless to say, the company even bribed all the reporters on the invite list, through a sugar coated “free Xbox 360: Slim Edition — Gift Scheme!” Some journalists held to their dignity, while others just grabbed the free Xbox 360 like greedy hogs.

However, despite of being a reporter, I preferred on buying an Xbox 360: Slim edition and this is where I will shed some light on the console; so that you can make the right choice– while faced with the decision of buying an Xbox 360.

Okay, first off: the price factor is the same as it was, in terms of previous versions of Xbox 360. For $300, you should go for the slim version if new looks and “features” make you satisfied.

The console is all wrapped up in sharp-glossy black finishing that covers it from head to toe, except for the DVD Rom panel (it’s in shiny silver color). This new baby is only 3 inches tall and 10.6 inches wide and only weighs in at 6 pounds.

In terms of buttons, the slim edition has quite few of them – the disc tray button and power buttons are gone. Don’t worry; you can turn your console “On”, through the controller or by touching the circular silver power area.

Same as before, the power circle represents the number of controllers, connected to the console. The good thing is that 360 manufacturers also heeded to our concerns about the gigantic brick like power adapter and minimized its size significantly. Now, it is only half the size of the original power unit and you can call it a “block”!

The biggest evident change to Xbox 360 Slim edition is the handful of new features. There’s a “whisper mode” that won’t let your new 360 make that whirring sound while you play games. Then we have a 250 GB hard drive and 5 USB ports and an added slot for the upcoming Kinect technology.

The only downside is that the box contents are the same as before. I mean, Microsoft could have thrown in at least one HD game, but they didn’t, and I wonder if not packing in ONE game is an “expensive” move as compared to handing out a truckload of 360s for free!

This brings us to the only new thing that is based on the same old mechanism: the black Xbox 360 controller. The little joy-pad doesn’t offer a lot of mobility, and you get to feel the same stiffy feeling on the D-Pad zone. Go ahead and try the D-pad controls on basic games like; Mortal Combat Vs DC Universe, or Tekken 6. You will notice your character moving forward and backward in jerky motions as if he’s having doubts regarding your decisions.

As for my closing statement, I am pretty sure that you’ve read some negative reviews about Xbox 360. Lets be honest, the games are cheap, the console is not too shabby and even though it does have its flaws (like everything else in this world), there are tons of games that you loved to play in the past. Why not give another shot to the Slim version of Xbox 360 and see where it leads to? I am sure, you won’t be that much disappointed.